The Girl from Nowhere (2012) User Reviews

Don't expect much

[TdSmth5 · 5/10 · 2 January 2021]

A guy who lives by himself finds a girl being beat up in front of his apartment. He takes her in but she refuses a doctor or the police. She stays a couple of days till she gets better. They become friends. He is a retired math teacher writing a book about beliefs and myths. His approach is of course Freudian, Marxist, scientistic if not nihilistic. He asks her to stay with him and help him with his book. She's not interested, she's more of a free spirit.

Weird sounds start coming from a pantry. The girl leaves. One day the guy is attacked by a ghost or something. The girl returns just in time. She has some affinity for the paranormal. She's had visions or the car accident that killed her parents. They do a seance. A drawing of the guy's dead wife appears. And also some evil creature.

The girl accepts the guy's proposal to move in. But he has more to offer. He wants to leave everything to her when he dies. She's willing to live there and help but in exchange for nothing. When they finish the book they celebrate and go out to buy champagne. Then there's the surprise ending that comes out of nowhere and doesn't explain much.

The Girl from Nowhere is unusual for a Brisseau film. It's just basically these two who have something of a Platonic relationship. He calls her the reincarnation of his wife. The girl who doesn't have anything still refuses all his help. She admits that she seduces and mistreats men which then results in them taking revenge. There's lots of talk about his book which is rather superficial stuff. Also missing is any eroticism. There's a single erotic scene that lasts about 2 seconds that doesn't relate to anything. There are some additional strange characters that appear near the end. There could be an explanation about what happens, but it doesn't really matter. The movie itself doesn't demand interpretation. Brisseau directs himself unfortunately, because an actor he isn't. A friend in the movie tells him he looks much happier since the girl is in his life, but he doesn't reflect that at all. His performance is entirely flat throughout. The actress does a much better job. This movie is ok as a very low key movie as long as you don't expect much.

Too many unanswered questions

[peter07 · 6/10 · 20 July 2013]

I saw this at Pifan 2013 in Bucheon, South Korea. What seemed to be a simple drama about an older man who takes in a troubled young woman got weird with the occult and stuff.

A man in Paris has lived alone for decades since the death of his wife. One day, he sees a woman being beaten up by a young man in the staircase of his flat, so he tends to her wounds and offers her a place to stay. He is in his 50s and she is 26 and has nobody. Surprisingly, she has a keen sense of intellect and helps him finish his book.

The ending was rather weird, as the movie ends without closure about both the girl's past and psyche and the man's death, which might or might not have been staged by him. Because of this, I'd say give this a pass.

Eye to Eye

[onlythusfar · 8/10 · 6 October 2013]

I found this a wonderful portrait of an unusual relationship between an older man, a thinker, a philosopher, and a young woman, who turns out to be quite a special thinker herself. The main thrust of the story, is that each has a need for the other, but also each is fiercely independent. Consequently, this sets up a conflict, both inside the individuals and between them. The conflict is generally good-natured and it gave me the impression of jousting, to try to arrive at a compromise, that suited each of them. There is some interesting philosophical discussion. Unfortunately, I found the ending disappointing. It was abrupt, and gave me the impression, that the writer was at a loss, as how to end the movie. For me this, however didn't negate the interesting material, that proceeded it. Only for those, who enjoy watching the subtleties of human relationships.

Everything from nothingness

[laredj81 · 9/10 · 8 June 2023]

Regardless of any criticisms that may be voiced about the film, I have developed a profound love for it. There are numerous reasons behind this sentiment, most notably the fact that proponents of postmodern art theory and those who understand the ever-changing artistic elements within temporal and digital contexts cannot craft a cinematic image that is simultaneously realistic, sensitive, and imbued with a sense of strangeness. Even in terms of execution and with a nearly nonexistent budget, it is sheer nonsense to claim otherwise. Those who support such claims are individuals who fundamentally fail to grasp the profound significance of experiencing a cinematic image as a living expression of what individuals convey when they bring their ideas to life on a moving canvas.

This film, likewise, is a creation borne out of nothingness, much like the girl born from the void. It presents intimate dialogues concerning thinkers who do not believe in the metaphysical realm, yet peacefully sway within the aesthetic mysticism of history and self, driven by the natural human desire for fulfillment. They dream, they contemplate, and they philosophize because they are humans who cannot be easily confined within the boundaries of reality. They are experimental.

The context of the film speaks to this form of human empathy within a cinematic framework, crafted by a director who attempted to compose his entire cinematic history through an individual project that, despite years of anticipation, failed to secure the necessary funding. Consequently, he decided to take on the role himself, alongside a girl and a friend, within the confines of his own home, utilizing a dilapidated camera.

Priso, a director who is madly devoted to his artistic world and philosophy, is incredibly captivating in this film.

The narrative dialogues vividly illustrate the fragility of consciousness at times and its strength at other times, as well as the formation of human desires that drive individuals towards belief despite their lack of faith.

It is a profound philosophical exploration within an era where films of this nature are no longer afforded genuine presence.

It is a film about the isolation of individuals when they engage in creative thinking, regardless of the closed boundaries of their creativity and its intersection with a domain that is not their own, as exemplified by the living element of the film itself. The presence of Priso as an actor allows him to fully acknowledge that he is not an actor and does not fulfill the expectations placed upon him. It is the very idea that the film presents through the measurements of conceptual models it showcases.

This is a film that is not easily embraced, simply because it does not conform to the conventional requirements of mainstream cinema within the context of postmodernism and digital systems.

Very good. I think.

[erostew · 9/10 · 15 June 2021]

After watching this film I can't quite decide how I feel about it. Jean-Claude Brisseau might be a genius. Or he might be a flawed old pervert like some of his controversies would suggest. Regardless of reality there isn't much of the perverse in this one at all. The nudity isn't there to shock and there isn't nearly as much as some of his other films.

The whole thing is equal part's old man's fantasy and a hopeful wish for some meaning to existence. Or at least that's what I came away with. I think every man who knows he is past the time when he can easily attract the attentions of a young beauty has had at least a fleeting fantasy of a relationship suddenly appearing. Maybe it's platonic or maybe it's not. That would depend on the one doing the fantasizing.

At any rate this particular relationship is platonic, which makes it more believable. Virginie Legeay does an admirable job of making us believe that she really cares for the old man of letters. And the director, Claude Brisseau, does an admirable job of portraying a man who feels that he is nearing the end of his cycle.

My indecision comes from feeling some irritation with the meandering philosophical discussion while at the same time feeling somewhat uplifted. I do think it is a very good film on balance.

Basically I think you should watch it for yourself. I can't predict how you will feel about it but I think it's worth the time to find out.

Entertaining Drama..low horror

[randal-46514 · 8/10 · 4 July 2015]

This film is mostly drama...it has a tad bit or horror in it. But this is not a horror film. I found the story entertaining. The acting was great. It is a French film. I did not mind reading the subtitles.

I rate this film and 8 because it feels like an 8 compared to the other films I have viewed recently.

Good choice for leading man. He seemed effortless in his acting and I was easily absorbed.

The leading lady was attractive and charming. All her scenes were believable.

The story was obviously fiction. But to me that true virtues of this movie is that you allowed yourself to be absorbed and suspended reality to be engulfed in the movie.

Like a book that you can't put down

[bill-729-637551 · 10/10 · 15 September 2017]

I watched this film on video and was going to come back to it later, as it was already late when I started. I ended up watching it to the end, captivated by the actors and the various elements woven into the "action" (the word action only being partly appropriate). You may find yourself wondering, should you watch it, how much was left out of the final cut: For several elements touched on as the film unfolded were left open-ended. For would-be actors (or directors) an example of the power of understatement.

The need for Illusion

[dkschulte · 8/10 · 17 March 2019]

When you have lost a love I think you can understand this movie. Reaching for an illusion and wrapping that illusion in your everyday life. Very interesting story.

Horror and more philosophical drama

[RodrigAndrisan · 9/10 · 8 June 2016]

Jean-Claude Brisseau is an interesting and very original filmmaker with a lot of personality. Personally, I find that he's "akin" with Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer. We find him here not only as a director and writer, but also as an actor. The whole movie is a philosophical dialogue between his character, Michel Deviliers and Dora's character, played by Virginie Legeay. Towards the end of the film we have Brisseau's personal brand, the erotic scene, very soft here, not hard as those in "À l'aventure". The film has a unique atmosphere, is well played. The end, most difficult for any film, is easily missed. Anyway, those who like movies like Batman, Superman, Captain America and other similar bullshit, to stay away, could commit suicide while watching...